Warm Winters
by Freya Freedom
Summary: -The snow was coated bloody red. Kaname let tears of blood trailed down from his scarlet eyes. He was forced to turn Zero into a monster. His beautiful, innocent Zero. Now Zero had to live with no past memories of Kaname, and fake memories implanted by Rido, memories that made him hate what he was. A vampire. But what if he started to remember?- Kaname/Zero. AU. Rating may change.
1. Prologue

Warm Winters

By Freya Freedom

**Prologue**

Remember when winter is the only time you had always been waiting for?

Remember when the snow you loved so much had always been perfectly pure and white?

Remember when the cold was actually something that warmed you?

And do you remember when we first met? When the first snow landed on your nose? When you giggled as I wiped it off you? When you were so completely as pure and innocent as that snow?

…

Where did all those precious memories go?

White snow tainted in red blood. The coldness of winter only brings sorrow to your heart. And like the snow, your once pure heart is defiled by the corrupt and filthy world we all now live in. Winter became the only time you hate most.

Dreams are gone, hopes turn into ashes, and the light is burned by darkness. And we both know the reason why.

_Because I dragged you into this._

Into this dark world of bloodlust and dark desires. Into the world where no light can survive. Where darkness lurks in everyone's heart. Even in your once pure heart.

_I am sorry._

_I loved you._

_I still do._

_Even though you won't believe me now._

But I promise you. I will make you pure again. I will make the precious memories we once had shine again. I will give all the warmth in the world for your smile. I will love you, shower you with all the love my dead heart could give; I will make you feel warmth in your heart when you see the snow.

Once more, I will make it pure as it once was.

_Because I cherish you._

Even though now you have become so bitter. A scowl cursed your beautiful face. A lethal weapon you always keep close to you, as if it's your only salvation. The scars in your heart keep on bleeding as you killed yet another lost soul, the one that cannot be saved. I know you don't want to do this. It's not you to hurt, and it is not you who should even bear this torture.

You should not be tainting your hands in blood. You are a creature meant for healing souls, yet you are forced into doing something only a beast should do.

_A beast, like me._

But I swear. Until all the blood in my flesh drip out of my body, until all my bones turn into ashes, until my very soul becomes hollow, I won't stop…

Until I make you whole again.

* * *

So, what do you think of the prologue? Is it too angsty? …or is it too crappy? Are the grammars acceptable? English is not my first language, so you might want to expect a few grammatical errors here and there. And there's also a special meaning for the phrase, "…a creature meant for healing souls," And you'll find out if you review and tell me to continue writing this story!

So please let me know what you think by reviewing! Thanks for reading!

P.S: This is only an experimental project. If I get some good reviews telling me to go on, I would! But, a word of warning, I might not be able to upload regularly, coz of school… and stuff, and maybe a huge writer's block. That's not a word at all… What I'm trying to say is that there is always an excuse for my lateness in uploading new chapters in the future. Anyways, tell me what you think about the prologue!


	2. Chapter 1: Stalking the Hunter

Hello everyone! Thank you for waiting so long for me to update! It took me a while to believe that the prologue got some nice reviews, even though it wasn't much. You guys are the best! XDXD So thank you all for your reviews! I will try my best to make this story worth it for you guys!

And I'm so sorry that I took so long to update! I've got mid-term exams coming up and I almost have no time to write this chapter :( Oh, and because of the exams, I won't be updating for a while, sorry for that.

Anyways!

Warnings: Slash/Yaoi (Don't like then don't read~), Grammars, maybe some OOCness, and of course, contains Kaname x Zero actions, maybe in the future chapters, hm? XD

DISCLAIMER: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino, though if it was mine, I would make it into yaoi right after Kaname gave his blood to Zero *drools*

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter** 1: Stalking the Hunter**

* * *

*Flashback*

_It was winter, snow was covering the entire land, making the world looked as if it was magical. And in the middle of a huge forest was a beautiful castle, covered in white snow. It looked like it came out right from a fairytale. _

"_Kaname! You always sneak up on me, that's not fair!" A beautiful boy, no more than ten, scolded a brown-haired young man, who looked like in his late teen. The small boy flailed his pale small arms in the air to emphasize his words and pouted childishly, his chubby red cheeks puffed out in annoyance. The small child was playing with the snow outside the beautiful castle, and apparently, the young man was hiding somewhere behind the boy, and then surprised him by suddenly appearing in front of him._

_The young man, identified as Kaname, chuckled lightly on his companion's cute antics. He loved surprising the little boy, his reactions were always exaggerated, but somehow, everyone found it adorable. _He _found it adorable. And he was glad that he was the only one who could make the younger boy reacted that way. _

_Kaname then walked closer to the petite figure still pouting at him. He kneeled down and brought the boy's chin up to meet his gaze evenly. He smiled warmly to the now confused looking child._

"_Forgive me. But you look adorable when you are surprised, dear one." Kaname said honestly. The small boy blinked, his feature relaxed and turned into a much happier one. He giggled and hugged his older companion. Now it was Kaname's turn to be surprised._

"_Well, I guess it's okay… You called me cute, after all! Thank you, Kana-chan!" The boy said to Kaname's warm chest. He looked up and grinned. Kaname smirked at him and hold him up from his underarms and twirled the boy around. The boy's laughter seemed to be very contagious, because when the boy laughed heartily, Kaname found himself laughing along with him._

_After a while, Kaname put him down, not wanting the boy to get nauseous. He pinched the boy's cheeks lightly and ruffled his soft silver hair. The small one pouted again but grinned in mischief. He climbed up Kaname's lap and started to mess with his brown locks, making them tangled and jutting out in many wild directions. He looked absolutely ridiculous. _

"_Naughty boy." Kaname said simply and tickled the silver-haired boy, seemingly not caring about the state of his now messy hair. The boy laughed aloud and pushed himself away from Kaname. He started running away, while looking behind to Kaname as if daring him to chase after the boy. But because he looked behind far too long and didn't look ahead, he tripped over a small rock and fell to the soft snow. Surprisingly for someone his age, he didn't cry at all. Instead, when Kaname ran to his side after witnessing the boy's fall in worry, he giggled. Kaname stopped in his track, watching the boy giggling at his clumsiness. He smiled and lifted the boy up to his feed._

"_Are you okay?" Kaname asked the boy._

"_I'm alright! The snow saved me!" The silver-haired boy chirped happily. _

_He loved snow. Very much, and Kaname knew that. Every snowy day, he would find the boy playing outside with the cold snow. But strangely, he seemed very comfortable surrounded by snow and never looked cold. It was as if he was protected from the cold by a snow goddess. As if he was the only one chosen to feel the warmth the snow could bring. To Kaname, that theory was not surprising. His dear one looked positively angelic in the snow, with his silvery hair and beautiful pale skin, he could actually be an angel, sent down to earth to bring warmth and happiness. Only for Kaname._

_Kaname smiled at the silliness of his train of thought and hugged the boy close to his heart. He loved this. He loved the feeling of having the boy in his arms, like he could protect his angel from everything that wanted to harm him._

"_Kaname?" The boy called from his place in Kaname's embrace, with his head tucked under Kaname's chin._

"_Hmm?" Kaname hummed to answer the boy; he was still enjoying the feeling of hugging the beautiful child._

"_I love you, as much as I love the snow!" The silver-haired boy said cutely, his happy smile hidden from Kaname. For the second time that day, Kaname was left blinking in surprise. But after a long while, which got the boy worrying over Kaname's well being—he thought Kaname was frozen in place by the snow, silly boy—Kaname hugged him tighter. His whole body got warmer and he felt like butterflies swarmed his stomach. He could get used to that wonderful feeling. Even though his angel might said that without any deep meaning, Kaname was fine with that._

"_I love you too, with all my life, and with all that my heart could give to you, Zero…"_

*Flashback*

Kaname's lashes fluttered as he opened his red-brown eyes. He looked at his surrounding and realized he had been daydreaming in the middle of class. He sighed softly, making a few of his loyal followers looked at him in concern. It was unusual for them to see Kaname looked so… defenseless.

"Oi, if you vampires have time to look at your precious leader, better use it to listen to me. I will have a quiz on this chapter tomorrow. There, I'm nice, aren't I?" Touga Yagari said from his place in front of the class. The vampires looked annoyed, but didn't dare to harm the man, as per Kaname's order. So they obeyed their 'Ethics teacher'.

It was already the fourth lesson of the night. A few hours later the sun would began to rise. Kaname looked outside to the moon from his window seat. It was almost winter. He smiled softly and recalled the memories he was just daydreaming about. He missed those days.

With Zero.

Kaname blinked his eyes and frowned. Regrets filled his heart and he suddenly stood up from his seat. He needed some fresh air. And some Zero stalking activity.

"I'm sorry, Yagari-sensei, but I need to go." Kaname said simply and walked out of the class room before Yagari could say anything.

The whole class looked at the door in surprise. The thing that surprised them the most was not Kaname's behavior, but his expression. He looked pained. What could make him look like that? Or who? A certain brunette girl from the day class popped in their minds.

But little did they know, it wasn't her at all.

Yagari looked shocked too, but a moment after, the shocked expression turned into an annoyed one.

"That damned bastard, just because he's a pureblood, he thinks he could do whatever he likes. Hey, stupid bloodsuckers! What do you think you're doing? Stop gaping and start studying! Let your leader be, it's his funeral." Yagari grumbled the last part and continued teaching the class. The rest of the night class students continued studying begrudgingly.

But Kaname's most loyal followers would know best, something was bothering their pureblood. And deep in their blood, they knew it wasn't something as trivial as a crush the female day class guardian had for him. Not even close.

Then what was it?

* * *

A very annoyed and very injured silver haired hunter.

Yes, Kaname knew it was probably a bad idea to sneak up on Zero, but he just had to. There was something he had to make sure. He smiled at what he was doing. He felt melancholic, to sneak up on Zero like this. And he wished he could surprise him too, and then receive a cute little pout from the boy. He then would smile at him with his gentle smile, and Zero would immediately forgive him.

He let out a soft breath; there was no way the hunter would do something like that. The moment he saw Kaname, he would surely point his silver gun to his head. And they would argue again, mostly about Yuki. Well, Zero would argue, Kaname would just pretend to.

Kaname looked around, trying to find the unique scent that was Zero. He was in the middle of the forest just outside of town. He had followed Zero's scent to the town, and it led him here. Now he just needed to find the right direction leading to the silver-haired guardian.

_BANG! _

_BANG! _

_BANG!_

Kaname turned his head to the sound of a gun being fired. Zero was fighting off those Es again, and from the smell of it, he was quite injured himself. The thought made Kaname growled lowly, no one should dare to hurt Zero. _His _Zero_. _And so, Kaname began running with his vampire speed to the direction of the blood scent.

After a while, he arrived at the edge of a clearing. Zero was fighting a dozen, if not _more_, level Es. And he looked exhausted, dried blood matted his hair. It wasn't his; it was one of the Es. Blood also splattered on his day class school uniform, but again, it wasn't his. When Kaname looked closer, Zero's only injuries were the claw scratch on his left thigh, and a graze on his right elbow, probably from falling. Kaname let out the breath he had been holding. At least it was injuries he could simply patch up by himself.

Though Kaname wanted to help, he knew he would not be welcomed, and only resulted in Zero hating him more. So he stood behind and watched. He watched on as Zero fired his bullets to three of the level E's head, killing them instantly. He kicked an advancing level E away on its gut, and fired another bullet to its heart. Kaname kept watching silently, as his once innocent little angel was killing off his kind. _Their _kind.

The fight finally went down to only three Es left. By now, Zero was sporting another claw scratch, this time on his right arm. His head was bleeding profusely because he crashed to the hard ground head first when he dodged an Es attempt to steal his silver gun. Foolish, they couldn't handle the anti-vampire weapon.

"Damned E's, just die already why don't you?!" Zero yelled in annoyance, he hissed as he accidentally rubbed the graze on his elbow to a tree bark. It wasn't painful; it just made him annoyed even more.

A level E, a stubborn one, Kaname could tell, crawled slowly closer to Zero, making him point his gun to his head. It slowed down for a moment, but it grinned creepily and started screaming manically to Zero.

"Why, you are another one like us! You will be falling, anytime soon now! So if you don't want that to happen, why don't you just be our—"

_BANG!_

The screaming level E got quiet, a dark red hole in between its eyes. It fell down and soon after, turned to dust.

"You talk too much." Zero said simply. He turned his gaze to the two remaining Es, watching them cowered over in fear. Even they knew they wouldn't stand a chance now.

So they started to run.

Zero cursed his luck; his legs were far too tired to run, and the wound on his thigh preventing him from moving too much, for it would start bleeding each time he moved it, and the wound had gotten very bloodied now. If he lost any more blood, he would be fainting anytime soon.

But Zero couldn't abandon his mission. For all he knew, those remaining Es could be heading to the town and attacked innocent people. He couldn't let that happen, his heart was telling him not to.

So with all the strength he had left, he started jogging to the direction the two level Es had headed to, his nose picking up the scent of the Es. But he never found out that he was being followed by a certain pureblooded vampire.

Kaname watched as Zero jogged away, relieved that the hunter was far too busy hunting the wretched E's to notice his already strongly suppressed aura. He watched Zero's left leg limped, probably because of the wound on his thigh, he thought.

Sympathy flooded him and in a matter of seconds he went to search for the level Es himself, minding his aura so the silver hunter won't notice him. After a few short moments, he arrived in front of the shocked level Es, with his amazing vampire speed he could outrun the Es in just a few seconds. They hadn't gone too far. Zero had attacked them a bit; they were sporting injuries on their legs.

"A pureblood!" one of the Es screamed. Kaname tsked at that, hoping Zero didn't hear the shrill scream.

"What is a pureblood doing here?!" Another one of them hissed at Kaname. For level Es, these two seemed pretty smart and rational. He had to tell Takuma to look into that.

Kaname frowned. He could kill those two in a blink of an eye with his pureblood power. They seemed to not know that however, and started cackling loudly.

"We should kill him~," an E hissed.

"Yessss, we can be even more powerful if we drink such pure blood." Another moaned in delight. Well, they were not so sane after all. Honestly, just the thought of two meager Es could kill him made him laughed inside, ridiculous.

"And how do you think you would do that, hm?" Kaname asked them with amusement. He could kill them there and then, but he loved to play with his prey. He was a vampire after all, and all vampires are sadistic when it comes to playing hunt.

"Heheheh, the same way we would have killed the silver-haired hunter of course…" the E hissed while grinning manically.

"Yesss, he was a beautiful one. I would love to sink my fang in—ARRRHH!"

Kaname instantly killed both of them by unleashing his power. By now, he didn't even bother to suppress his aura. He was too angry.

He was _livid._

_How dare they say that! _Kaname thought furiously. _No one _was allowed to think such things about Zero. Even if it was only a weak level E, Kaname would not allow any threat. Even though he couldn't help Zero directly—Zero would not appreciate that, he would certainly eliminate any threat that would harm Zero, _any of them_. He began to think such sadistic strings of thought about what he would do to torture the threats he deemed dangerous to Zero.

Kaname was so angry that he forgot Zero was on his way to his direction. He just realized that when he heard Zero's exhausted pants. His eyes widen. He just unleashed his aura; Zero would certainly know he was there.

He even lost his control, all because a couple of insane Es said _those _things about Zero. Kaname sighed and decided that he was not ready to face Zero in his condition, and fled the scene to go back to his class. Hopefully Yagari was not there to greet him.

* * *

Zero arrived at the place where he heard the loud screams from. He saw some blurred movements. It must be Kuran Kaname.

Zero knew the pureblood was there. He sensed his pureblood aura just a while ago, then it disappeared. Though the scent still lingered. He looked at the ground and there were still some remaining dust of what was once the two level Es. He sighed and dropped to the ground softly. He was annoyed because Kuran had gotten there and killed his prey, but at the same time, he felt a strange relieved feeling that he didn't have to kill anymore.

Though Zero was confused, why would Kuran helped him?

"Probably just to annoy me," Zero said to himself, chuckling. Because there was no was the pureblood would help Zero. Maybe he was just walking around and spotted the Es, so he killed them. Zero knew Kuran had ditched the class a few times just to take a breather or talk to 'his precious, sweet Yuki'. Honestly, the pureblood was such a spoiled brat sometimes.

"Well, better report back to the headquarters and then maybe a nice warm shower. And straight to bed." Zero smiled, and started heading back to the Hunter Association Headquarters, he couldn't wait to rest his injured body.

Meanwhile, Kaname was inside Yagari's office, being reprimanded—insulted, mostly—for his sudden escape from class.

"Stupid vampire, you think you're so high and mighty, huh? If you hate my class, just say so! I would gladly kick you out of the class, hell it would be my honor to do that literally!" Yagare growled out his insults while chewing out his cigarette in annoyance.

"Of course, I'm sorry for my misbehavior, _Yagari-sensei," _Kaname said softly, but putting all his insults in just one phrase of his teacher's name. That annoyed Yagari even more.

Sometime later, after Yagari was satisfied in dishing out all his best insults to Kaname, but failed in making him react to the insults, he let the pureblood out of his office. Kaname said his thanks to Yagari, being the polite person he was, and closed the door. He sighed and headed back to the Moon Dorm.

When he opened the front door, he was greeted by the sight of his loyal followers looking worried. He smiled at them.

"Kaname-sama!" Ruka and Hanabusa exclaimed. Senri and Rima were nodding to him, busying themselves with their favorite pocky. Akatsuki also greeted him with a nod. Only Hanabusa and Ruka were exaggerating. It was only Yagari after all; he wouldn't do anything to Kaname, that would result a war to happen, one way or another.

Takuma stood up from his seat and greeted him, "Welcome back, Kaname."

Kaname nodded to Takuma and walked inside, the crowding vampires moved to allow him entrance.

"Why are you doing here? It's almost sunrise, go to sleep." Kaname ordered them softly. "I'm fine." He added with a smile.

Hearing the order, they reluctantly obeyed their king.

"Then we bid you goodnight, Kaname-sama." With that, all of them left and went to their rooms. All, except Takuma.

"What's wrong Kaname? I know something happened. I never saw you looked so lost before." Takuma asked with a small worried frown.

"Nothing is wrong, Takuma. Go, get some rest." Kaname told him.

"And the same goes for you, Kaname. You looked like you could use a long rest." Takuma chuckled and waved his goodbye. He walked up the stairs.

Kaname watched his friend go and he, too, went to his room. He lied down on his bed and closed his eyes.

_What is wrong, huh, Takuma? _Kaname thought, he opened his eyes and sat up, facing his large window and looking up to the beautiful moon.

Of course everything is wrong. His precious angel _forgot and hated him._ That was all it took to make him crumble and pained. But he couldn't say that to Takuma. Or anyone else, for that matter. It wasn't of their concern. And even if they knew, there was nothing they could do to help him. To help him ease the pain in his heart. But Zero could, of course, he was Kaname's angel. But in that state he was in, he doubt Zero would even want to touch him.

Kaname lied down again and closed his eyes. All the depressing thoughts made his head hurt. He looked at his desk and found some papers. His paperwork. Damned irresponsible council for making him do their job. He walked to his desk and began to work in his paperwork. Hopefully it would take his mind away from his current train of thought. Then maybe some much needed sleep too.

* * *

Zero sighed softly at the feeling of the hot water cascading down his back. He could stay like that forever. He began to recall last night event in his head. Why would the pureblood be that deep in the forest for his usual midnight walk? He was usually walking near the school ground, brooding most likely. And Zero knew that Kuran must had smelled Zero's scent, and being the jerk he was, he would have stayed and annoyed Zero with his insulting remarks. But he left. That was the part Zero most confused about. Was he hiding from Zero?

Zero smiled in amusement at his thought, why would Kuran be hiding from him? There was nothing for him to be scared about.

"I'm a lowly level D, after all." Zero said sarcastically to himself.

Zero decided thinking of the matter was not worth his time, so he brushed those matters away and finished his shower. He was carefully cleaning his wounds too; his vampire healing ability seemed to be working quickly. Only small marks left on his body. They would be gone by tomorrow. And he really needed some rest.

"Zero! Zero, are you inside?" Zero heard Yuki called. He sighed and almost walked to open the door for the small brunette, but she already let herself in.

"Zero! Put on some clothes, geez!" Yuki scolded him, blush on her face at seeing Zero walking around his room with only a towel on his hair. But Zero didn't seem to be embarrassed, being the obliviously dense person that he was. He was just annoyed that Yuki disturbed his peace.

"I was just got of the shower, AND THEN you came in, how do you expect me to put on some clothes that fast? Just close the door, brat." Zero said, already putting on a long sleeved white shirt, and then he pulled up a pair of comfortable black slacks.

"Sorry…" Yuki apologized sheepishly, and then, "I'M NOT A BRAT!" She punched Zero's arm. Zero smiled slightly and ruffled her hair, making it messy.

"Of course you aren't" Zero said.

"Hey!" Yuki pouted, she tried and failed to fix her hair. Zero always treated her like a kid, like she really was his real sister. Yuki was secretly happy Zero always acted like that and sometimes even spoiled her. This was one of those times.

"Come here." Zero said to her while chuckling lightly. He was sitting on his bed, a comb in his hand. She walked to him and sat next to him. Zero moved her so that he was facing her tangled, messy hair and started combing, as an apology for messing her hair. Yuki closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Zero's fingers gently untangling her hair and combed it. Yuki's hair was always messy, so Zero took it upon himself to always take care of her hair for her, and reminding her to wash it every day.

"There." He said once he finished combing Yuki's hair. He patted it softly and stood up.

"Thanks, mom. You are the best!" Yuki grinned. Zero sighed at that and looked at the clock. It was already 3.46 AM. In a few hours school would start.

"Go to sleep Yuki, it's almost morning." He said and ushered her out of his room.

Yuki pouted but complied to his wish. She knew he just came back from a mission, and she felt a bit guilty in bothering him.

"Fiiine. You too get some rest Zero. The bags under your eyes make you look like an old man!" Yuki giggled and ran out to the girl's dormitory.

"I don't have bags under my eyes…" Zero muttered. He went back to his room and laid himself down on his bed. In a matter of minutes he was fast asleep.

In his sleep, Zero dreamt of him being a small child, and a tall, gentle brown-haired man. It was the best and the strangest dream he ever had.

* * *

How was that...? I'm sorry if it's not as you expected it to be. And sorry if some of the grammars are wrong, really really sorry for that! I'm not good at describing things, so you might find it a little rushed and confusing. But tell me what you think of it anyways! Be gentle with me, please~!

As I told you at the top, I won't be updating for a while because of exams, so please bear with my absence!

So tell me what you think in your reviews!


	3. Chapter 2: Blurry Memories

A/N: I'm so sorry guys! OH MY GOSH, it took so long for the next update! I'm really really sorry, after the exams, my head got stuck and I didn't know what to think to continue from last chapter (AKA writer's block) and I don't wanna give you a piece of crap of an update just for the sake of updating, so I delayed until I got my inspiration back! I hope this satisfy you readers, somewhat! XD

I'm so thankful for all the reviews too! THANKS PEOPLE, YOU ARE THE BEST!

So now, I'm gonna answer a few questions and stuff from my dear reviewers:

**irmina** :Hey there! Gosh I'm a BIG fan of your stories and thank youuu for reviewing! I'm a huge KaZe fan too, and don't worry! Zero's and Yuki's relationship in this story will be purely brother and sister! I like them that way! Well, here's the next chapter!

**Kai Hoshizuki : **Hello there! Thank you for reviewing my story! About the castle, well, I'm supposed to keep this until later chapters (for an unknown reason even to myself), but I guess I can tell you, it's the Kuran Castle! The Kiryuu Family doesn't live in a castle, they live in a mansion XD Okay then, thanks for waiting and here's the next chapter!

**sachesan : **Thank you for the review! Well, I forgot to put this in the warning before, but this story is an AU, so I guess, well, everything is kind of up to me. Haha, well, Ichiru was not there because of some reasons I will explain in later chapters, so until then, I guess you will only find him mentioned by some people. And yes, Zero knew of Kaname's status, so what do you mean by your question? I'm confused, sorry XP And lastly for the age gap difference between the original story and mine, well, because this is AU, I need to make some changes from the original story so it would fit with my plot, so there you have it! And here's the next chapter!

And the rest of you who reviewed, alerted, and favorited this story and me, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Here's the next chapter and if you have any question, feel free to ask! I will try my best to answer all of them! XDXDXD

ANYWAYS, on with the story!

Warning(s): yaoi (slash), AU, OOCness, grammars, future lemon (I think… XD)

DISCLAIMER: Vampire Knight (still) belongs to Matsuri Hino!

P.S: I wish Hino-sensei would notice the KaZe fans out there (including me) and make another sequel of Vampire Knight WITH YAOI IN IT!

"Talking"

_Flashbacks/dreams  
_

Enjoy the story!

* * *

Chapter 2: Blurry Memories

* * *

*_dream*_

_Zero opened his tired eyes, he looked around but his vision was still blurry. His surroundings look… white._

_"Cold…" Zero shivered and hugged himself to make his body warmer. He rubbed his eyes to clear out the blurriness. Zero noticed his voice sounded a bit weird, but he blamed it to the sleepiness._

_"It's… snowing?"_

_Zero stood up and began to walk around. It was snowing everywhere, it seemed like it was a large open field. Zero noticed that he was barefooted when he suddenly felt he couldn't feel his feet. He looked down and felt as if his legs looked a bit shorter, but he didn't give it another thought._

_Where is this place? Zero thought. It seems so familiar…_

_Zero kept walking until he found himself staring at a huge castle. He couldn't see it before because the snow was fogging his vision, so he could only see a few meters ahead of him._

_Why is there a castle here? Is this some sort of fairytale dream or something? Zero thought to himself while snorting softly._

_"Zero, why are you barefooted? Look at you, your feet are freezing…" suddenly a gentle voice called him from the direction of the castle. Zero found himself walking to the voice, as if he was not in control of his body. The voice seems familiar though, and strangely soothing._

_"I'm sorry, but I just can't help myself! It's snowing so much!" Zero said with his sweet, high-pitched voice._

_Wait, high-pitched? I sounded like a… like a kid! Wait, I'm a kid? Zero thought, panicking. He wanted to stop his body, but he couldn't, he was trapped in his own mind, as if he was watching himself. Watching his past._

_Deciding it was just some weird dream—because the last thing he remembered was him lying down on his bed inside his room in his dorm, not in front of a huge castle—Zero decided he would just watch where this dream was going._

_"Come." The voice—a man's voice—said, and Zero's body obediently moved faster. He looked in front of him to see a silhouette of a tall man. Zero felt his arms held up as if wanting the man to hold him up, he also felt himself smiling widely, as wide as he never thought he could. His small self seemed fond of this man._

_Zero remembered calling out the man's name, but he couldn't remember what it was. Strange, he thought._

_The man hugged Zero to his surprisingly warm body, giving his warmth to Zero's shivering form. Zero looked up and smiled softly to the man. He shivered inside, was he that much of a happy child in his past? He couldn't remember the time before he was brought to Kaien's house, so he never thought much about his lost memories._

_Strange, I'm seeing him now, but I just can't remember who he is... Zero thought. It was like Zero knew this person, but he just couldn't remember anything about him._

_The man's brown hair was covered with snowflakes, and Zero found himself giggling. He reached the top of the man's head and ruffled the soft locks, clearing out the snow that had gathered there._

_Zero found the man smiling as he looked down to put on a pair of warm white winter boots. Zero tilted his head and smiled sweetly, hugging the man's head close to his heart._

_All these happened while Zero's mind was reeling in confusion. The man seemed to be close to him, very close, but Zero just couldn't remember who it was. The more he tried, the further away the memories go. As if someone was just not ready for him to remember his past._

_Then, suddenly, his mouth said something that he had forgotten, long ago._

_"I wish Ichiru is here now. I'm sure he would love the pretty snow…" Child Zero mumbled sadly to the man's brown locks. That man pulled away slightly and looked at Zero in the eye, sympathy clear on his face._

_"Zero…" the man said quietly, and then he pulled Zero to his chest and caressed Zero's back gently, comfortingly. "I'm sure, wherever Ichiru is right now, there's nothing that he wants more than being here with you too. It's alright, Zero. I promised, you didn't I? I will find your brother, no matter what it takes." The man said to Zero reassuringly._

_"Really? You will find him for me?" Zero's small voice asked uncertainly, but when he found the man's warm smile and a slight nod, Zero hugged the man even tighter than before, he muttered a shy "thank you" and kissed the man's cheek lightly._

_The brown-haired man blinked at the kiss in surprise, it seemed like it was the first time Zero kissing him, albeit just on the cheek. Zero inside could see that the man's eyes glowed in pure happiness, even though the child Zero outside just smiled innocently._

_Zero's child body then walked to the middle of the clearing and spread out his arms. His smile was so full of happiness that the real Zero couldn't help but feel the happiness seeped into his heart as well._

_"Nee, Ichiru, I really hope that you will be here soon." Zero said and closed his eyes._

_"I miss you, brother…"_

_And then everything started to fade away, he could barely hear the gentle man's voice calling his name. He still couldn't remember who the man was, but he had a feeling that they would meet again._

_*dream*  
_

Zero's eyes fluttered open slowly, long silver lashes quivered against one another as they tried to protect his eyes from the raging sun outside his window. He forgot to close the curtains last night.

Zero groaned softly, his muscles were especially stiff in the morning after wasting the night before on some mission the Hunter Association gave him, often involving him being sent on places to eliminate Level E vampires.

Zero looked at the clock after adjusting himself to the sunlight.

10:12 AM

"What the…?!" Zero exclaimed and shot out of bed quickly. He went to the bathroom and washed his face, dried it, and went back to his room to get his school uniform. He was late—again—and he missed the Science period! Yuki was going to kill him—with her unusually loud nag which could go on for _hours_.

Zero ran out of his room and out of the dormitory, his tie was still not tied properly and some of the buttons on his vest were still not buttoned due to his rush to the school building. He ran while trying his best to fix his messy tie and button his vest properly. When he arrived at the school building, he saw _her._

"What are you doing here, Yuki? Shouldn't you be in class?" Zero asked the small brunette, shock in his face. Could it be that she was also late?

"Speak for yourself, lazy Zero!" Yuki yelled at him with hands on her hips. She let out an exaggerated sigh and continued, "The science teacher asked me to go and _wake you up, _so I was about to leave the school when I saw you. But what do you know, you are actually here before I get to you! Well, a bit messy, but I can fix that." Yuki pointed at his messy hair.

Right, he forgot to comb it, and he didn't shower too. Fortunately, he took a really long one last night, so he still felt fresh. At least, he thought he felt fresh.

Yuki tiptoed to reach Zero's hair and fixed it with her hands. Because Zero felt a bit sorry—Yuki seemed to be struggling to reach his hair to properly fix it—he bent down a little so she can do a better job, Yuki looked grateful to this.

"All done!" Yuki chirped in her overly cheerful tone. She reached for his wrist and began dragging him inside Cross Academy.

"Come on, walk faster, Zero! The first class ended already!"

"Alright, alright, just stop pulling me. For a mini-sized dwarf you are quite a strong one…" Zero pulled his hand away and rubbed it all the while grumbling.

"Wha—ZERO!" Yuki whispered harshly to Zero—no shouting in the hallway when classes had begun—and punched his side.

"It doesn't hurt at all… well, maybe a bit." Zero said simply and walked to his classroom. Yuki spouted up curses indignantly but followed Zero anyway.

"Stupid Zero…" Yuki pouted childishly and huffed in annoyance.

"My grades are way better than yours." Zero said. Yuki grumbled.

"Speaking of grades, how was your math test, Yuki?" Zero deadpanned. Yuki froze at that.

"Um, I failed it…?" she said timidly, then let out a sheepish laugh.

Zero sighed loudly in exasperation, "I told you to study—"

"Well, well, looks like you two are just in time for the second class. Surprisingly." a man's voice said grimly.

Zero and Yuki gasped and looked ahead of them. Looked like their petty argument made them lost track of time, because before they realize it, they were already in front of their classroom. Yuki shivered as the man—their math teacher—loomed over her (Zero was too tall to be loomed over).

"Aikawa-sensei! I'm sorry, Zero was stubborn so it took me some time to get him to wake up!" Yuki said, apparently lying to protect herself from the teacher's anger.

"Yuki, you-!" Zero tried to protest but Yuki stomped on his foot so hard, he had to bite his lip tightly so he didn't scream out loud.

"Anyways, sensei, he's here now! Luckily, we are on time! Right, Zero?" Yuki smiled charmingly to Zero, but she was actually saying 'Just play along! Or else.'

"Yeah, yeah…" Zero said half-heartedly, wanting nothing more than to nurse his aching foot.

The teacher rolled his eyes at Yuki's obviously lack of expertise in the lying department and told the two to go to their seats. He also said that he would give Zero a detention for being tardy.

Zero stopped when he reached his seating row—just one row above Yuki's—and turned around to the teacher.

"Sensei, rather than give me detention, please consider giving Yuki a few hours of after school lessons, because I see that she failed your math test last week." Zero said simply and went for his seat, a hidden smirk on his face. The whole classroom snickered at Yuki and she was blushing tomato red. She couldn't say anything right now because it would be inappropriate, but she would surely get Zero later!

"Oh, yes, you are right. I guess I will leave your punishment to Miyaka-sensei." Aikawa-sensei said while tapping his chin in consideration.

"Alright then, class. Let's begin. Please open page 68—"

* * *

The classes blurred past and before Zero knew it, it was already time for the change over between the Day Class and the Night Class. But before that, Zero must go to his science teacher for his punishment for being tardy. Miyaka-sensei, his science teacher, seemed merciful and understanding enough of his job as the school guardian who went on patrol every night—even though he went on a mission the night before, but she didn't have to know that—so she let him off with just some scolding. And she also considered the fact that Zero was one of her best students, the best even. Yes, he was that smart to consider himself smarter than Yuki, who was _always _dozing off at class.

After that, Zero went to the front of the Moon Dorm to find it already packed with a screaming bunch of girls—and boys. Zero looked around a spotted Yuki who was struggling to keep the students in line, and failing to do so, as she was knocked down to the ground—as usual. Well, at least it looked like Aikawa-sensei decided to let Yuki some freedom first before the extra classes. And it seemed like he would be patrolling alone that night.

Zero sighed at the pathetic sight and strolled down to her. He helped her up and turned to the screaming students, awaiting their 'beloved' Night Class. He inhaled and then—

"GET BACK IN LINE YOU IDIOTS! ANYMORE 'KYA KYA' OR 'IDOL-SENPAI MARRY ME' OR 'WILD-SENPAI IS SO WILD' OR ESPECIALLY 'KURAN-SENPAI YOU'RE SO HOT' I WOULD—"

Zero's rant was interrupted by the sound of the gate opening. The silent and scared crowds of Day Class students gained back their courage and started screaming and ogling at the Night Class students.

They stopped however, when they saw Kaname Kuran walked to Zero. Even the Night Class students stopped to see what would happen. It was unusual; usually he would walk to Yuki and thanked her for her hard work. But he completely neglected her, he didn't even looked at her, he just walked straight to Zero. So it was definitely not about Yuki Cross, then, was what Kaname's most loyal followers thought.

Yuki also looked surprised, and maybe a bit jealous. But she shook her head slightly and thought to herself, _why would I be jealous of Zero? In fact why would I be jealous at all? It's not like Kaname-senpai and I are… couple… KYAA! No, don't think of that! Come on, pull yourself together Yuki! _

Yuki blushed hot red at what she just thought. Couple? She laughed inside in dry amusement, there was no way they could have a relationship like that. Besides, she didn't even know if Kaname would like her back. To her, Kaname was just a dream of fairytale prince and happy ending she knew she could never have. Yuki stopped her musing when she heard Kaname called Zero's name.

She blinked at the situation. It looked alarming! Kaname stood so close to Zero that their faces were just inches apart. Zero looked flustered and furious, as if he wanted to do nothing but killing the pure blood in front of him. She looked around and found the rest of the students also looked surprised, well, Hanabusa and Ruka looked annoyed at the closeness, Rima and Senri looked emotionless, while Akatsuki only showed a hint of mild surprise. It seemed like Takuma was the only one amused by this turn of event.

But, the next line Kaname said downright surprised all of them.

"Did you say all that, Kiryuu-kun? That I'm, as you said, 'hot'?" Kaname asked Zero, his tone in light amusement as he looked down to Zero. How he wanted to caress the silverette's cheeks and rid his face of the scowl.

Zero blushed furiously at that and stepped back away from Kaname. He saw a slight hurt on the man's eyes, or maybe that was just the light reflecting on his eyes.

"I was just taking examples! I would never flatter you stupid _leeches_, especially you!" Zero hissed at Kaname. The Night Class glowered at Zero. Kaname raised his hand as a sign that they shouldn't cause a scene, and they obeyed quietly.

Kaname narrowed his eyes at Zero and walked closer to Zero, he stopped right in front of him. He stared down at Zero while Zero full on glared at the brown-haired man defiantly. Kaname leaned his head near Zero's right ear and whispered softly.

"_You are one of us too." _

Zero's eyes widened and looked up to Kaname as he was about to leave, a smirk in his face. Zero realized his dumbfounded expression and settled back to glaring at the man, unsure of what he would say if he opened his mouth after that. Vampire secrets most likely, the ones human shouldn't know. And there were lots of humans in the middle of the place he's standing then. But Zero couldn't help but feel slightly hurt at what Kaname said. He knew he was a vampire, and Kaname knew he hated that fact. But that stupid vampire just had to remind him of that, as if his constant thirst of blood was not a reminder enough.

Then he heard them.

"Hey, what do you think Kuran-senpai said to Kiryuu-kun? He looked shocked."

"This is the first time I see Kiryuu looking like this. Priceless!"

"Haha, the great Kiryuu got the shock of his life! Man, I wish we can treasure this moment."

"Woah, that was intense, I didn't know Kuran-senpai was that close to Kiryuu…"

"Do you think they are, you know, 'an item'?"

Zero's eye twitched at all the comments the Day Class students were making, especially the _last _one.

"SHUT UP! NO, THAT STUPID KURAN AND ME ARE NOT AN ITEM! THAT'S THE LAST THING I WANT US TO BE! IN FACT THERE IS NO 'US', IT'S JUST HIM, AND IT'S JUST ME! NOW GET BACK TO YOU DORMS OR I WILL KICK ALL OF YOU!"

The students ran as he chased all of them away to their dorms, the scene they just saw temporarily forgotten, but never erased from their mind. It was just so unusual to see Zero looking flustered and dumbfounded like that.

Zero huffed and looked back to the path to the school. The Night Class had already begun their lessons.

* * *

Kaname stared unblinkingly at the night sky outside from his window seat in the class. The teacher was saying something but he completely ignored it and instead his mind went back to what he said to Zero just a few moments ago before his classes started.

"_You are one of us too."_

Yes, Zero WAS one of them. But did he really have to say it? The more he thought of it, the more he regretted his choice of words. He shouldn't have said anything like that, he knew how sensitive Zero was about it, how he _despise _his very being. How he didn't know_ the truth._ But at the same time, he had to keep up with Zero's hatred towards his kind; he had to be cruel to him, no matter how he hated to do that, no matter how it was hurting him just as much as it was hurting his loved one.

Because Zero felt more comfortable with that. He hated his kind after all, and the last thing he needed was having Kaname treated him nicely. Yes, he was pretty sure Zero would hate that. At least, the present Zero would. That's what he thought.

Because _he _molded him into that kind of person, _he_ made him feel emotions the _real_ Zero would never feel. Hatred. Rage. Inferiority. Vulnerability. And every other thing that had made Zero into what he was.

A creature of the dark. No, a creature that had been _broken_ by the dark. Beyond repair. Who knew what _Rido_ implanted inside Zero? Inside, Kaname growled lowly at _that_ name.

But Kaname thought to himself, no matter kind of being Zero had turned into, it was still Zero. It was still his loved one. And he would kill Rido if he dared to lay his hands on Zero. One. More. Time.

Kaname closed his eyes and let his emotions surge through all the fibers of his very being. Dark, dark emotions he kept inside for so long. The desire for revenge, and most of all, his regrets. Oh how he regretted everything that had happened to Zero.

Deep inside, he knew it wasn't his fault, but he kept blaming himself, about how he was too weak to protect Zero, how he was a fool to let Zero stray away from him. And now, now he was just a shell of his former self. He rarely smiled, and when he did, it was either forced, or just to Yuki.

Oh, sweet Yuki. He knew of her feelings for him, and he knew how wise she was at handling her 'not-meant-to-be' feelings for him. She knew he didn't love her in the way she always hoped he would, even though she didn't know why. He was thankful of her gentleness and comforting existence when he was feeling down, but he had reserved every single drop of his love for someone else. And it was not the kind of love he felt for her. No matter how cruel it sounded, this love, it was more special, and even more precious. It was the kind of love he knew he would only feel for one special person. And it was Zero.

But, Yuki didn't need to know that. Not yet.

Kaname cleared out all of his thoughts when he heard the teacher calling for his name.

"Yes, sensei?" Kaname answered politely. The teacher blinked at Kaname's answer and coughed, he was trying to calm himself down. He was a new teacher there, he knew of the Night Class, as other Night Class teachers do—they were vampires too after all—but he was still nervous because here he was, only a lowly level C, and he was teaching nobles and even the Vampire king himself! And said Vampire King were too busy in his thought to listen to his _petty lesson!_

"Kuran-sama, I was just saying that… Um, you were very engrossed in your…" the teacher trailed off, not sure whether to say that he was not paying attention or just apologize and continued the lesson like nothing happened. He didn't want to enrage the _pureblooded king_ after all. But Kaname seemed to notice this, so he decided to save the nervous, new teacher.

"I'm sorry, Akiyama-sensei, I was thinking about something. Please, do continue the lesson," Kaname apologized softly with a small, fake smile to assured everyone that he was fine. They seemed to buy that, because the teacher continued his lesson and the students went back to listening to the teacher.

And after that, the rest of the night went out as a blur.

* * *

"Breakfast is ready!"

Kaien Cross's voice ranged through the kitchen as he called his adopted children to eat their breakfast together. It was Saturday and he always made sure that Yuki and Zero got back to their house on weekends to spend it together.

"What's for breakfast?" Zero slurred as he was still very sleepy. Yuki was having her extra math lesson so he had to patrol longer than he usually did. Plus, Yuki took her time with the extra lesson—probably because she had to repeat from the beginning—and she only helped him went it was almost time to finish, so in fact, he actually did both his and her job. How nice he was.

"Oh, it was just the usual!" Kaien said cheerfully. Zero looked almost worried at that, the chairman's 'usual' was almost always bad.

"Well? Where is Yuki?" Kaien asked.

Zero rolled his eyes and went to the dining table. He looked at the supposed 'breakfast', and sighed loudly.

Zero then explained, "She is probably still sleeping. After all, she took some extra lesson last night, her brain is probably still fixing whatever mind damage she had from over thinking. What the hell is this, chairman?" he took the whole breakfast and dumped all of it to the trash bin in the kitchen.

"ZERO-RIN! How could you! I made it special for my two beloved children~!" Kaien followed Zero to the kitchen and whined at his action.

"I don't know you have children, chairman," was Zero's answer simply.

"Zero-rin is so cruel!" Kaien whimpered, fake tears running down his face.

"Yeah, yeah, now out. As long as I stay in this house, you are NOT allowed in the kitchen." Zero ordered coldly and kicked Kaien out of the kitchen.

"Well, at least we would have some decent breakfast each weekend now. Isn't that great, chairman?" Yuki said from behind Kaien.

"Yuki! *Gasp* not you too! Is my cooking really that bad?" Kaien asked her with sad eyes. But unfortunately for him, Yuki got used to it.

"Well, if you consider putting sugar in miso soup and oyster sauce in bread dough as bad… then YES, your COOKING is as BAD as it can GET." Yuki said with a sweet smile on her face. Oh how looks can be so deceiving.

"Yukiiiii!" Kaien screamed in agony and crocodile tears started falling out of his eyes, and then he sat in a corner all depressed.

"Do you really have to do that?" Zero sighed as he came back to the dining room, food on his hands. Yuki looked down sheepishly and then when she saw the food, her eyes sparkled in delight.

"I'm so sorry _father_, but look! Zero brought us food!" Yuki said sweetly, the word 'edible' almost slipped out of her mouth. A depressed Kaien in stage one was already bad, they didn't want to make it worse, or it might disturb the rest of their weekend.

"Ah, already! Zero-rin is such a wifey~" Kaien swooned over Zero and almost kissed his cheeks when Zero kicked his face. "Shut up and set up the table." Zero said coldly.

Kaien sulked but complied to Zero's order. Yuki was almost impressed. Zero seemed to be the kind of person who could make others obeyed him with no question just by ordering it. It was kind of awesome, but also terrifying. Yuki tried to remember all the times when Zero ordered her to do something and she complied almost immediately. She shuddered at the numbers.

* * *

"Thank you for the meal!" Kaien and Yuki said cheerily. It was the most satisfying breakfast they had yet. They still couldn't figure out how the bitter, ever-scowling Zero was such a great cook. They would choose his cooking over a fancy restaurant _anytime._

"Well, now that's over with, Yuki." Zero called.

Yuki perked up and smiled at Zero, she was still in a happy land. "Yes, Zero?" she asked.

"…Wash the dishes. I'm not asking." Zero said simply and stood up from his seat. Yuki whined but obeyed and started to bring the dirty dishes to the kitchen sink. Zero nodded in approval and put on his coat. He was about to walked out of the house when Kaien stopped him.

"Zero-kun, where are you going?" Kaien asked and tilted his head 'cutely'. Zero felt like bashing that annoying man's head to the nearest wall. But since he felt like going easy today, he just said," Just going to see Lily." After that he slipped on his shoes and walked out the door.

"Zero-kun, wait!" Kaien exclaimed and grabbed the door handle, and then he closed it again. Zero looked startled and waited for the chairman to say something to clarify his ridiculous action.

"What is it, Cross?!" Zero snapped when Kaien was being quiet for a long moment. Kaien jumped in surprised.

"Ah, well… You see here… How should I say this…" Kaien stuttered nervously, there was also a hint of fear in his tone.

"Just get on with it! I have to groom Lily!" Zero yelled in annoyance. Yuki's voice was heard from the kitchen," Hey, what's all the ruckus?" she yelled in concern.

"Nothing sweetheart!" Kaien yelled back to Yuki in a honey sweet tone. Zero rolled his eyes.

"Well?" He said, more softly this time, seeing that snapping at the man in front of him would do him more bad than good. Kaien coughed and looked at Zero with a serious expression.

"Zero-kun, I need you to go to the Moon Dorm." Kaien said slowly. Zero blinked at that.

"What? Why should I? Can't it be Yuki?" Zero asked in confusion. It should be Yuki, she was in a better term with the Night Class than he was. Besides, he wasn't in the mood to deal with those aristocratic jerks and especially that Kuran bastard.

"No Zero-rin, only you can handle this. Please, just treat this as a mission, okay." Kaien said softly so that Zero wouldn't freak out much, especially so early in the morning.

Morning. Right.

"Anyways, the damned bloodsuckers won't be up by now, it's still only…" Zero looked at the clock on the wall near the dining room,"…nine forty in the morning. As in, 'night' for them. They're still sleeping." Zero said with an exasperated sigh. He _needed _to see Lily.

"Not all of them." Kaien said quietly.

"And you know that, how?" Zero asked incredulously.

"Seiren, of course." Kaien answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Zero raised his brow and crossed his arms. "And why would she report back to you? She usually only do that kind of thing to—"

"Kaname." Kaien finished grimly. Zero blinked and leaned back against the wall behind him.

"So, you're telling me that something happened to that jerk. And now his watchdog answers to you because you are his trusted person here? Am I right if I said that he sent Seiren here to tell you what happened to him so that you can solve the problem?" Zero concluded smartly. He didn't feel smart though, he didn't like where the conversation was going.

"Solved perfectly like a detective, Zero," Kaien smiled," But the one thing missing is, I'm not the one to solve his problem, Zero-kun, you are." Kaien said with a smile of reassurance. But it didn't reassure Zero at all.

"Why should I help him? You are wrong if I, of all people, want to oh so graciously help him. No way. I'm out." Zero finished simply, leaving no room for argument. He just wanted to get out of all this and relax with Lily. Was that so much to ask?

He was about to close the door when he heard Kaien said the one thing he never expected would happen.

"Zero, Kaname Kuran is dying."

And then, Zero froze.

* * *

There you have it! The second chapter! So, what do you think?

...It's still bad isn't it? :(

Well, bad or not, please let me know what you think by reviewing, OKAY?

So...

Review please!


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